The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Last week was vacation for me. It kicked off with Space City Con in Houston, TX (pics here!) then I went to Galveston for the rest of the week. On Thursday (August 8th) I went to the NASA Space Center in Houston. They have the Galileo shuttle there now, which was restored using as many pieces of the original prop as possible.

Yup. I sneaked a Tribble into the Space Center.

Galileo! Galileo! Galileo! Figaro!

They also have a DS9 uniform shirt on display that was actually on the International Space Station (ISS).

I also took one of the two offered TRAM tours. The one I rode on went to Mission Control. Luckily enough, we got to see the brand new control room. It's so new, there were photographers down in the room doing a photo shoot while our group was wildly snapping pics of our own.

Lads and lasses, the sleek and sexy new Mission Control.

Our MC guide (middle picture in the center) told us that this week they were going to acquaint employees with all the new technology and run mission simulations to thoroughly train everyone on the new equipment. There are even small touchscreen pads to the side of each desk monitor that allows for text communication between the workstations. Our guide also filled us in on the impending Orion mission.

If you haven't heard of it, where have you been living???

The Orion mission intends to put human beings on Mars. Talk about science fiction becoming science fact! There is a small window of opportunity in which six months is spent traveling to the red planet, 45 days of exploration/taking samples/etc., then a six month journey back to Earth. However, if there is a delay for any reason during this window, the astronauts will have to spend an entire year on Mars before the widow comes back around for the journey back, resulting in a full two-year mission (six months there, a year on surface, six months back).

On a side note, on August 15th NASA held their first recovery test on the Orion module, and intend to begin test flights in 2014.

The Space Center has the 1:18 model on display with a giant wall explaining the Orion mission.

For updates on further tests and such, I highly recommend following @NASA_Orion on Twitter.

I also took in the little ISS program they have, which explains what life is like for astronauts aboard the ISS: how they sleep, exercise, use the restroom, eat, etc. It also explains the impact of testing on cells in microgravity. Up on the Space Station, cells reproduce faster and larger, making specimens easier to grow and affording scientists many samples to work with in experiments. This kind of research has the chance to revolutionize modern medicine as we know it and possibly grant scientists and doctors the chance to find cures faster for some of the most terrible and debilitating diseases.

Is that not AMAZING?!

I highly recommend going, and if you have the chance (unlike myself, didn't have the time unfortunately), you should definitely visit the Johnson Space Center. Knowledge is power, and this place is at no loss for either.

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BONUS:

Guess who got to sit in the Captain's chair of the 1701-D restored bridge at Space City?

Shiny on the bridge!